Stacey Pope is a professor based in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University, UK. Professor Pope leads research in the area of women, football andinequalities. She is a leading guru in the area of women football fans. She has developed a new programme of work examining men’s responses to the growing visibility of women in sport and issues of sexism and misogyny. She also leads research on media coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and fans of the England women’s team. Her research has led to her contributing as an invitedexpert for various UK Government inquiries for Culture, Media and Sport and Women and Equalities select committees. She is committed to the public engagement of her work, with her research regularly featuring in the nationaland international media.

Topics covered:

• Women fandom – experiences, change over time, internationally, differences inmen’s/women’s sport, as role models.

• Research used to inform policy (e.g., briefing paper DCMS and government inquiries);advice for others on how to start this process
• Recent paper on feminist research in a male-dominated world. Playing the numbers gameand the emotionless feminist
• Advice on funding
• Future plans.

Dr Emma Cowley is a postdoctoral researcher at the SHE Research Centre in TUS Athlone. She is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie alumna and earned her PhD from Liverpool John Moore’s University; her research focused on increasing adolescent girls' participation in physical activity. Emma leads the Invisible Sportswomen international research group which aims to address the gender data gap in sport and exercise science. Previously, she held a postdoc position at the Cardiometabolic laboratory at UNC Chapel Hill before moving to the UK where she was the lead for the DTA3/COFUND PhD Fellowship Programme.

In this episode, we talk about the following:

• Emma's identity/positionality
• Women’s experiences in academia: Findings, recommendations.
• Invisible Sportswomen paper and other related papers. What more can be done.
• Use of social media as a PhD student/as a postdoc student and other advice and opinionpieces – advice.
• Specific latest research on resistance training.
• Future research plans/goals.

Dr Stacey Emmonds is an Associate Professor in SportsPerformance in the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University. Dr Emmonds has extensive experience of working with professional sports teams, governing bodies and policy makers on consultancy and research projects. Shehas published over 50 research articles, book chapters andconference presentations in relation to sports performance and particularly women’s football. Alongside her research role, she works as a physical performance coach with the England women youth football teams as well as being an invited member of the UEFA Fitness for Football advisory board.  

We talk about:

• Stacey's journey into research – whether it wasit a natural progression from previous experience. Advice to others pursuing careers in football/research.

• Chapter in book (Women's Football) on talent identification and development – how this research has informed policy. What else is needed.
• Current research activities, e.g., English FA, ACL injury; how this research came about/evolved and key findings and actions.
• Collaborative work with other researchers and how to go about this/advice for others.
• Other research, e.g., in rugby and key findings and messages
• Future research-related plans. What more needs to be done.

Harry Meadley is an artist, researcher and skateboarder based in Leeds, UK, who initiates projects that, through inclusion, participation and co-production, seek to reclaim and reappropriate civic space. From municipal art galleries, universities and city centres to remote locations, Meadley’s socially engaged artistic practice aims to question not just the structures of power within society but of artistic production itself. Recent projects include the Civic kateboarding festival for marginalised gender skateboarders as part of Leeds 2023 Year of Culture and Free-for-All at Touchstones, Rochdale, which saw the entire gallery given over to the people of Rochdale to use however they wanted.

Things we talked about in this podcast:

• Background as an artist, researcher, skateboarder
• Overview of keynote at WiSEAN conference
• Change in skateboarding subculture and traditional male domain; how came up with idea of spaces alsobeing occupied by women/girls/gender minority? Safety issues for women/girls.
• Key messages from research –interviews, focus groups. PhD.
• Activities and link with art
• Funding: Advice for sports-typical individual approaching e.g., Arts Council, arts-based funding.
• Next projects

Dr Margie Davenport leads the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, and has published more than 175 manuscripts related to physical activity and sport during preconception, pregnancy and the postpartum period. Over the last decade she has worked with a number of National/International organisations including FIFA, the World Health Organization, International Olympic Committee, Sport Canada, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the American College of Sports Medicine, to support physical activity during and following pregnancy.

Dr Davenport was the Chair of the 2019 Canadian Guidelinefor Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy, and the 2025 Canadian Guideline for PhysicalActivity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep throughout the First Year Postpartum. This work led to the development of the Get Active Questionnaire for Pregnancy, Get ActiveQuestionnaire for Postpartum and the Canadian Society forExercise Physiology/American College of Sports Medicine Pre & Postnatal Exercise Specialization.

Content

• Current research studies being undertaken/ PhD student activities.

• Recent systematic reviews (e.g., PA, sleep, pregnancy, postpartum): Overview/insightful findings;importance of systematic reviews (e.g., in PhD study/grant application); planned reviews for future.
• Guidelines for assessing maternal cardiovascular physiology during pregnancy and postpartum: Lab advice.
• Recent qualitative work.
• Evidence-based policies for pregnancy, postpartum, athletes. How guidelines in Canada differ from other countries.

• Out of all research articles/studies, the most proud of.
• Future plans. Perceived barriers.

Dr Alex Culvin is the Director of Global Policy and StrategicRelations, Women’s Football at FIFPro, theglobal player union. Alex is also an academic at Leeds Beckett University at the Centre for Social Justice in Sport andSociety. She is a former professionalfootballer, who played in both Englandand Europe.

Items discussed

• Former footballer experience and own transition experience out of football. Barriers/opportunities as a former player.

• Research on work practices/professionalisation. Best practices in this area, globally.
• PhD work and interviews with; the current situation.
• Impact/how have policies been informed by research.
• FIFPro work.
• Research agendas in professional women’s football.
• Advice for others.
• Future studies.

Dr Ali Bowes is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Nottingham Trent University. Ali primarily researches the sociocultural dimensions in elite women’s sport and is the co-editor of two books: The Professionalisation of Women’s Sport and Women’s Football in a Global, Professional Era. Ali has published 40 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, focusing mainly on qualitative methodologies from feminist perspectives, spanning topics including gender inequality in elite sport, equal pay debates, maternity rights, national identity, women’s sport fandom and media coverage. Ali has also discussed these issues extensively in popular spaces, featuring in a range of national and international media and culminating in being involved in the Netflix Documentary, “Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport”.

In this podcast:

Kerry McGawley is a professor in sports science at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, part of Mid

Kerry can be found on X

https://www.instagram.com/kerrymcgawley/

https://x.com/kerrymcgawley

Topics covered:

Christy Greenleaf, Ph.D. is a Professor of Kinesiology at Zilber College of Public Health, University

Dr Greenleaf’s research focuses on psychosocial aspects of weight, physical activity and body image. In particular, she is curious about the lived experiences of individuals with larger bodies in health and fitness contexts and how weight bias, or negative attitudes and stereotypes towards individuals who appear to be overweight, manifests itself within physical activity settings. Dr Greenleaf's research seeks to inform practices for creating and supporting size-inclusive physical activity environments. To date, she has focused on media representations of fat exercisers in a televised weight-loss competition, women’s experiences related to plus-size exercise clothing and exercise motivation, as well as experiences of embodiment during physical activity. Most recently, she has begun exploring information on weight-inclusive and weight-neutral approaches to fitness and health directed toward fitness professionals. Dr Greenleaf has published 60 peer-reviewed articles, 15 book chapters and has made over 125 national/international presentations.

Things we talked about in this episode:

Dr Marlize De Vivo is a qualified Biokineticist, Sports Rehabilitator and Sport & Exercise Scientist with extensive experience spanning health and sports settings. During her PhD, she focused on understanding and predicting the physical activity behaviour of pregnant women, leading to the development of This Mum Moves, a national educational initiative to upskill workforces, supported by National Lottery and Sport England funding.

Since then, she has co-directed the Perinatal Physical Activity Research Group (PPARG) at Canterbury Christ Church University, generating insights into women’s engagement in sport and physical activity during their childbearing years. She has also been instrumental in the development of national physical activity guidelines, serving on the Expert Working Group for the Chief Medical Officers' guidelines.

As an academic, Marlize is currently based at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, where she is the National Centre for Sport & Exercise Medicine (NCSEM) Programme Manager. Outside of this, her “passion project” is The Active Pregnancy Foundation – a registered charity supporting women to stay active throughout pregnancy and beyond, by providing expertise and advice, changing culture, and challenging policy.

We will hear Marlize talk about all her activities, and how This Mum Moves came from connections she’d made with individuals trying to make a difference for pregnant women. One of these connections even came from a social media post she did. I really enjoyed chatting with Marlize and was inspired by the advice she gave at the end on how to make an impact in whatever you’re doing.

Themes covered in this episode